Mad King's War: Deliverer
by Hundredth
Summary: A novelization of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, including an original character.
1. Beginnings and Endings

_Mad King's War: Deliverer_

_Written by: ExposedWiresExposedVeins_

_Beta'd by: DarkEclipse45_

_Chapter One: "Beginnings and Endings"_

_Fort Meritenne. _Even the name sounded dark and dull to the two new "prisoners" of Daein: Mia and Malin_._

The two Crimean-hired mercenaries had been captured and imprisoned by soldiers loyal to King Ashnard of Daein. They were to be sent to a prison camp; for now, however, they were to remain in the fort until a horse-drawn carriage had arrived to take them to Ashera knows where. Malin, the brown-haired archer, stayed in a sitting position against the cell door and he looked over to his neighboring cell that Mia was sitting inside of. Malin was tempted to lighten the mood with a friendly "So, how's it going?", but decided against it. Instead, he made another vain attempt at untying the ropes that were keeping his hands bound together. Malin's wrists were burning and turned a shade of pink due to how tight his restraints were.

Malin and Mia were the only ones currently imprisoned in Fort Meritenne. Both were kept in separate makeshift cells. The only things that kept them company were the small, crackling fire of a torch and one black-clad soldier making sure the prisoners made no attempts at an escape. _Not like it would be possible from where I'm standing… or sitting_, thought Malin. _We both were careless, resulting in our imprisonment here. If only we had a way out…_

A second soldier walked to inform his companion of the carriage's arrival. Malin thought of the likely scenario they would be put into. He could see it now: being placed in a cell much smaller than the ones they both were currently in, being fed slop and very little of it, getting tortured for whatever information desired by the Daeins, staying there until the two met the same dark, lonely and hopeless fate prisoners of war did before them. Two words immediately came to mind to the young man: _This sucks._

"Let's get these two out. The sooner they're out of here, the sooner we're out of this fort!" They took the keys to the cells and unlocked the doors. Malin stood back up on his feet and backed to the end of his cell in response. Mia stood still, however.

"Come out quietly and we promise you won't get hurt!" one of the Daeins warned. None of the prisoners responded. After a moment, one of the soldiers walked up to Malin and grabbed him.

The only thing Malin could offer was some snark. "What a load." He then spat on the soldier's feet.

"I'll make you regret that, cur!" the same soldier yelled at him and immediately punched his stomach. The archer groaned and bent face forward, but offered no more resistance. The Daein then took out the lance that was hanging over his back and kept it trained on Malin's chest.

The other soldier didn't have much of an easier time. As he entered the myrmidon's cell and approached her, Mia swiftly landed a forceful kick on the man's groin. The soldier bent over with a coughing fit. "You wench!" He grabbed his lance and rested it on Mia's pale white neck.

Before the soldiers could do anything else, three unfamiliar men rushed into the scene. One burly man equipped with a large axe led the charge. Behind him were a red-haired sniper and a blue-armored knight. _Dear Goddess, we're saved!_ Malin rejoiced. He and Mia watched in utter disbelief as they took out the soldiers with little to no effort. The axe-wielder killed Malin's captor, smashing his axe into the man's skull. The soldier fell into a heap not a second after.

"Intruders!" the second soldier yelled out in response to the surprise attack after removing his spear from Mia's neck. "Intru-!" The sniper quickly ceased his warning to others with an arrow in his neck. A short chocking noise followed afterwards, with a collision onto the stone floor.

Both Malin and Mia sighed in relief at their rescue. Right after Malin's sigh, though, he looked at the victim's head in his cell that was leaking out crimson fluid. He made a short "ugh" in disgust and stepped over the dead body.

"Are you both all right?" asked the axe-wielder.

"We sure are, now that you're here," Mia replied gratefully as she stepped out of her cell. Malin simply nodded in agreement and did the same. "But who are you guys?"

"We are the Greil Mercenaries. I am the leader of this pack, Greil," the man introduced himself. "These two with me are Shinon and Gatrie." He nodded to the others in turn. The sniper known as Shinon made no acknowledgement. Gatrie, the knight, smiled at Mia with a wink.

Mia stepped out with a grin etched on her face now that they were free from the clutches of Daein. Malin stepped out with a big yawn; once he exhaled, he put on a small smile. "Thank you for getting us out of here, Greil! My name is Mia, and I was hired by Crimea to bolster the army's numbers," the excitable myrmidon introduced herself.

Malin hesitated before speaking. "Name's Malin," he finally said. "I was also hired by Crimea. We just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with these damned Daeins."

"But perhaps this isn't so, Malin," Greil replied. "We're all here now, so we should be grateful for this occurrence."

"And what do you mean by that, Sir Greil?" Malin asked with a raised eyebrow, whilst crossing his arms.

Greil didn't waste any time and held nothing back. "Mia, Malin. We would benefit greatly if you two would join us. We are escorting the princess of Crimea to Gallia. The Crimean army is not faring well, and I would hate to see the same fate fall upon you."

Mia's face beamed with approval. "You freed us, sir! We would be more than happy to help! Right, Malin?"

"Your carelessness dragged us here, Mia..." Malin replied with a sneer, "Although I may have had part in that. Oh well. I've no problems with helping out; the less Daeins around the better. Thank you."

"Come. We haven't the time for pleasantries," Greil said as he beckoned the two former prisoners down the hallway. "I heard soldiers say that my son Ike is in the south side of this fort. Go there and speak to him in my stead. We shall meet up afterwards." He turned back to his companions. "Shinon, Gatrie! Let's go find the one leading this group. I'm assuming my dumb pup of a son came here looking for us. Make sure he won't have him or her to deal with." With that, the three rushed past the cells and into battle.

Mia pulled Malin by the arm. "You heard the man, Malin! Let's go find that Ike person!"

"Don't you mean 'dumb pup?'" Malin asked with a small smirk. "I quite like that name better. Let's just grab some weapons and meet up with him."

They found their way into an armory that had barrels full of an assortment of killing tools: swords, lances, axes, and bows. Malin quickly grabbed a bow and a quiver full of iron-tipped arrows and tied the quiver to his back before handing Mia an iron sword. As Mia sheathed her sword to her belt, they continued down past the armory to meet their new employer's son.

xxxx

"This is what we get for investigating some 'abandoned fort,' huh?" a green-haired fighter asked himself with some annoyance as he fended off a soldier with his axe. Bearing his weight with a swing, he knocked the soldier feet away with a bloody gash on the victim's torso.

"Stay calm, Boyd," commanded a red-haired paladin who was also wielding an axe. "We all need to maintain battle formation around Soren and Rhys. This won't last too long, hopefully." The small group was holed up in a small room with two gaps that had teemed with armed enemy soldiers. They were outnumbered by far, but no one had suffered wounds aside from few small scratches as a result of poorly-aimed spears.

They stood their ground for what seemed for quarter of a mark's time, and they were tiring gradually. A blue-haired swordsman stood opposite of Boyd and the paladin, fighting off axe-wielders. A mage behind him helped from afar with soft mutterings of his voice, quoting his leather-wrapped spell book. Once the mage had casted a spell, winds gusted from his free hand. The winds had formed a sharp arc that cut through a fighter with ease.

The priest known as Rhys kept himself busy, tending to the small wounds of the group with little to no effort. He was physically and mentally exhausted as he would raise his staff to one's wounds. He was breathing hard with concentration and all the while felt alive, as if he would not prefer doing anything else.

On the blue-haired swordsman's right was a green-haired horseman that closely resembled Boyd's looks, but not personality. The lance knight continued to keep a level head as he impaled opposing soldiers. He would pull his reins so neither he nor his mount would face any injuries.

_This isn't over. We will not fall to Daein, not when so much is on the line here_, thought the son of Greil.

xxxx

"I think I spotted Greil's son, Malin!" Mia exclaimed with a mischievous smile. "It looks like his group is dealing with a bunch of bad guys! Let's go lend a hand!"

"You really think that's Sir Greil's son, Mia? He doesn't look a thing like him!"

"Well, Malin, they're the ones not dressed in black like all the Daein soldiers we've seen; is that proof enough that they're the good guys?" Mia countered.

"…Good point. Can't really argue with that," Malin replied with a small frown. Mia was just about to go on a full-out run if it wasn't for Malin grabbing the myrmidon's lean arm. "Be careful. We can't afford to be reckless here. Stay by my side; as much as I hate to admit it, I can't protect myself at close range."

"Understood." With that, Mia stood by Malin's side with her sword unsheathed. Feeling a little unnerved, Malin grabbed an arrow from his quiver should a soldier approach the two.

Thankfully none of the Daein soldiers had noticed the escaped prisoners as they were busy engaging the group. As the two Crimean mercenaries approached the room housing the Greil Mercenaries, Mia rushed to cut down a fighter that was fighting a blue-haired swordsman. A short distance away, Malin shot down a soldier who was giving the lance-wielding horseman a difficult time.

The swordsman was shocked to see some aid come from inside the fort. With their help, the small group had eliminated resistance that rushed to the room they were all in.

"Your name wouldn't happen to be Ike, would it?" Mia asked directly.

"It is, but who are you?" Ike asked.

"My name is Mia," she introduced herself as Malin caught up. "This is Malin. We were both hired to help Crimea's army."

"What are you two doing here, then?"

"We got careless and were captured…"

"Mia!" Malin shouted with a frown etched along his face. "It was you who was careless! I only tried to get you out of trouble. You got me into this!"

"Relax, Malin. It doesn't matter anymore. We're with Ike and we aren't imprisoned anymore." Mia attempted to comfort her friend with a hand on his shoulder. "Anyways, they were about to send us to a prison camp when Greil saved us."

Surprised at the mention of his father, Ike inhaled sharply. "You've seen my father?"

"Sure did," Malin spoke up. "He's a little north from here. We should be able to meet up with him soon if these numbers will start to dwindle."

Ike exhaled in relief. "So he's safe… That's great to know."

"So, who exactly are you guys?" Mia questioned with some curiosity.

"We're the Greil Mercenaries. As you can see, we're fighting against Daein."

"With these small numbers? Are you all crazy or something?" Malin incredulously asked.

"Taking on an entire Daein battalion with these numbers? Nice! We're in," Mia cut in.

"Mia, since when did you think you could decide for me…?" Malin questioned with a sour expression. Mia only showed a sarcastic-looking frown. "...Ugh! Fine. This group looks a little better than what Greil said about the Crimean army, at least." He turned to Ike. "Today's your lucky day, dumb pup." With that, he went to the center of the group to avoid direct combat.

"Wait just a second; who are you?" a nearby green-haired fighter asked when Malin took an arrow out of his quiver from behind.

"There's no time to talk. For now, let's deal with these bastards, eh? We can make time for introductions later."

"He's right," the paladin said. She then spotted another group of enemy soldiers approaching them.

A swordfighter raced to meet the green-haired fighter with an upward slash. Malin pulled his arrow back and launched it, landing in the enemy's shoulder. As he was about to tend to his own wound, the fighter swung his axe diagonally, finishing off the foe.

Then two heavily armored knights attacked. Malin made an attempt to make short work of one of them by aiming at the gap in the knight's armor: the neck. He nocked an arrow back into his bow and let go of it. Unfortunately it didn't hit the target; instead it bounced off the knight's heavy armor. However, the fighter and paladin were able to cut them down with their steel axes.

Now, with the arrival of their two new allies, the battle was finally turning in the favor of the Greil Mercenaries.

xxxx

"What? The mercenaries are cutting down our numbers?" the leader yelled out to his subordinate. "No matter. They are still vastly outnumbered. Men! Everyone attack them! Don't let a single one survive! We cannot afford to fail General Petrine!"

After he announced his command, another soldier raced to meet him with a panicked look. "Sir Balmer! They've pushed through the front lines! We stand no chance!"

Balmer immediately grabbed his subordinate's shoulders and firmly shook him. "Soldier! Would you dare retreat? We must fight to the end, lest our heads meet the tip of General Petrine's spear! She would be upset to see our forces fall back after she cuts down that fool she is fighting!"

"I… I… I understand, sir! My apologies!"

Balmer let his grip leave the soldier and softly sighed. "Damn it." He then commanded the remainder of his troops. "Rally here, men! We will not fall here when more than our lives are at stake! I will see that they all burn to cinders!" The rest of the Daein numbers then surrounded their leader without hesitation.

"For Daein!" the soldiers yelled while lifting their spears up above them. Without a moment's rest, the Greil Mercenaries marched to meet them.

xxxx

As the tides were turning, the Daein troops were shrinking more and more in numbers until the leader of the group and a small group of soldiers surrounding him were left. Two of the original Greil Mercenaries, Shinon and Gatrie, made their way to the remaining mercenaries without turning their backs to the black-clad troops.

"Shinon! Gatrie!" Ike exclaimed at the sight of the sniper and knight.

"No time, Ike!" Shinon said with a small smirk. "Let's cut these fools down. We will meet with Commander Greil soon."

Shinon and Gatrie combined their forces with Ike's and met the Daein troops head on.

Before they could launch their assault, they beheld a huge ball of fire floating above the Daeins. Before it made its landfall, the group dove out of the way of the magic attack, save for the two mounted allies who pulled their reins to avoid any harm.

The Greil Mercenaries immediately regrouped, except for Shinon and Gatrie. Gatrie helped his friend up on his shoulders as Shinon swiftly nocked an arrow to aim for the leader: a sage, the source of that elfire spell. The sniper found his target that was already muttering chants to launch another attack. Before the sage could finish, Shinon let go of his arrow, nailing the sage in his neck.

The sage fell to the ground without any more sound than a soft thud. The rest of the soldiers did not budge. "Daein will not move!" an enemy soldier announced with pride.

"Then we'll just have to cut you down and walk over you! Greil Mercenaries, attack!" Ike commanded while holding up his sword in the direction of their targets.

_At least it's almost over_, Malin thought to himself as they met the soldiers.

xxxx

The Greil Mercenaries made short work of their foes. While the Daeins' last stand was admirable, it did not take much for them to fall. As Ike wiped blood of his fallen foes from his blade, he heard more fighting past a hall the Daeins had protected. "Come on, everyone! Commander Greil must be there!"

Everyone followed Ike as he sprinted down the hall. At the end of the hall, they found Greil standing a short distance away from his foe: a black-tressed paladin that wielded a blood red spear.

Malin and Mia stood at the back of the group, watching what was about to unfold. Without a moment's waste, a voice yelled out behind the two. "There they are! Let's surround them, men!" Then soldiers and archers stood at the four entrances of the large room.

Mia unsheathed her sword at the sight, sweat still dripping down her forehead from the past encounter.

Malin held his arm in front of his friend. "Are you serious, Mia? We all might as well surrender. We thought we were outnumbered before, but that was an understatement compared to what we're facing now! I'm not lifting my sword arm to these fools, not when I'm sure we'll all fall!"

As the Daeins drew closer to the Greil Mercenaries, a loud roar became audible. "What in the name of Ashera is going on?!" Malin shouted as he jumped at the sound.

One of the groups fell back but met the Gallian beast tribe face to face. A few screams were heard, but they were cut short by the jaws of the laguz. A few cats and tigers made their way into the room moments later. The leader, a blue cat, reverted into his beorc form and announced to the Daeins, "Attention, Daein soldiers! Leave this place at once! If you do not comply immediately, you will face Gallia's full strength!" With that, one of the tigers let out a bellowing roar that was heard in the entire fort.

After the tiger roared, the troops behind Malin and Mia had made whimpers and quickly turned their backs to leave their leader. "Cowards," Malin muttered under his breath. "Mia, I think this is all over." Mia then sheathed her sword.

Malin turned his attention back to the Gallians and the paladin, who didn't seem like she would budge from her place.

Then entered a knight encased in black armor. He had a huge sword of beautiful construction in his gauntleted hand. He let out a deep, almost inhuman voice to the woman. "Withdraw, General Petrine."

"Mia…"

"What?" Mia asked as she sheathed her sword again.

"I was just making sure you weren't going to do something ridiculous like fighting the man in that armor. You're a talented fighter, Mia, but I don't think you, or anyone else for that matter, can put up a fight against him," Malin explained as he rested a hand on his friend's shoulder.

As Malin and Mia finished talking, so were the armored knight and paladin. Both retreated as well as the remaining Daein soldiers. "Damn, Mia. You made me miss what they were saying. You need to quit doing that."

"Does it even matter, Malin? They're both gone now."

xxxx

Malin and Mia, along with the Greil Mercenaries, now rested in Gebal Castle, nestled on the road to Gallia's palace: home to the valorous King Caineghis. Gebal Castle was an abandoned structure composed of stone. It offered some warmth from the light cold of the night. The two new mercenaries were talking in a room when Ike walked in.

"Mia. Malin," he greeted.

"Good evening, Boss-man!" Mia returned with a smile.

"Ike," Malin acknowledged with a tired look.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you both, if only for a short time."

"Please do, Ike," Malin answered. "Then perhaps the others won't be unsure about us. They know we're army mercenaries, but they're not sure we can be trusted quite yet. Go ahead."

"All right," Ike started. "You both were hired by Crimea, if I recall correctly back in the fort."

"That's right," Mia spoke up. "We were hired to bolster their numbers. Sadly, we were captured and were gonna be placed in a prison camp. And, of course, Greil got us out of there."

"You two know Crimea's current state, then?"

"Crimea's in trouble, obviously," Malin said. "Daein's scouring through the country in search of a princess. We didn't know there actually was an offspring of the late king until we had been hired. Sir Greil told us that you guys were to take her to Gallia, which I take it you were successful, since I see no frail ladies in distress around… Anyways, that's all she wrote, I believe."

"Correct. The late King Ramon wanted Princess Elincia to retreat to Gallia. Upon finding her unconscious in a battlefield, she employed us to take her there."

"…Did I hear that right?" Malin chuckled. "You found her unconscious in a battlefield? Goddess, that's a riot! I would have thought the Royal Knights could take care of her at first!"

"Malin!" Mia elbowed her friend's side.

"Oof! Sorry about that. Ike, Mia. That wasn't warranted on my part. Hehh."

"Hm. You seem to be a capable sort, Malin. You are talented with a bow, but I find the things you say to be… as you said, unwarranted."

"Don't hold it against him, Boss!" Mia cut in. "Believe it or not, he was hired alongside me. He is a Crimean sympathizer."

"Yeah," Malin agreed. "You heard the girl. I've just been unsure since Daein invaded us with no warning. King Ashnard cutting down the royal family like livestock… Nothing could have warranted these actions. Perhaps we might have hope now that this Elincia made it safely to Gallia. But what are we to do once we reach her and the king of beasts? Live there happily ever after with the laguz?"

"I… I'm not sure what my father would have us do when our job is finished," Ike said with uncertainty. "But first thing's first: the Greil Mercenaries meet with Princess Elincia and King Caineghis in Gallia. We must deal with the task at hand before considering what happens afterwards."

Malin shrugged. "I guess you're right. Sir Greil knows what he can and cannot undertake, I feel. I'll be staying around if you would still have me. He seems quite capable as both a warrior and leader."

"I feel I should help in return!" Mia chimed in. "Greil did free us, after all! You'll need a spatula to peel me from your side, Boss!"

Ike smiled. "Malin. Mia. I thank you both. I am glad to have you on our side."

"Don't get too soft there, Ike," replied Malin with a smirk. Ike walked out with no reply.

After a moment of awkward silence, Mia broke it. "I still don't think what you said was appropriate, Malin. You should watch what you say about Crimea; heck, we're both from here, you know! The Royal Guard was sure to have put up a fight against the Daein army!"

"Hm. I guess. No one would be able to handle a fight if someone incited without any kind of warning. The only warning we had was our history with Daein. We never were particularly friendly, but that doesn't mean they had a justified reason to invade."

"That's right," Mia said with a tired voice. "Well, it's been a day, huh, Malin? It'd be a good idea to get some shut-eye early." The purple-haired myrmidon left Malin to himself in the small room for privacy.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Mia," her friend replied.

xxxx

Half a mark's time passed, and some of the mercenaries were sleeping. All of a sudden, a roar from a laguz boomed throughout the castle and its surroundings. Malin jumped off of his bedroll and walked out of his room with a frown. He voiced with thick sarcasm, "I was kind of hoping the laguz would be as inactive as beorc at night…"

"No, Malin!" Mia answered as she ran up to her friend; she then pulled him by the arm and dragged him with her. "I think something happened!"

Malin pulled his arm away from her grip and followed Mia to the entrance of the castle. "You mind not dragging me around?" the archer asked with some annoyance. His companion failed to answer, whether it was due to urgency or disregard for her friend. The cold drizzle poured on top of the duo as they caught up with the rest of the mercenaries.

They found Ike kneeling over his beloved father, the commander of the mercenaries, breathing his last as he suffered a gaping wound in his stomach. The gore was seeping onto his son's grip, but Ike held on all the tighter, silently praying in vain that his father would somehow get back up like nothing happened.

Not a word was spoken.

_End of chapter._

xxxx

_**(Author's Notes): **__Greetings, readers. Just as the summary suggests, this is an attempt at a novelization of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. I was unsure of using an original character simply because of common pitfalls that include them, but I do hope the fact that he's there doesn't take away from this story. (Note: I tweaked my OC's backstory just a tad to better fit the following chapters.)_

_Doubtful I'll update this story very often, as it's not number one on my list of priorities, but I hope to put more effort into writing more often than before._

_I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Thank you for reading; feedback of any kind is welcome and appreciated._


	2. Between the Trees

_Mad King's War: Deliverer_

_Written by: ExposedWiresExposedVeins_

_Beta'd by: DarkEclipse45_

_Chapter Two: "Between the Trees"_

The day after Commander Greil's death, Ike and his sister Mist stood in the middle of Gallia's grassy plains that were lightly touched by the setting sun's evening light. It was a bittersweet feeling for the new commander, seeing bountiful land that was untouched by beorc and the work of their hands, and yet standing at the site of his father. Commander Greil's axe, Urvan, marked the grave, its blade dully shining under the sun's rays. Mist laid a bouquet of flowers where the handle met the axe's blade. A beautiful item placed upon a tool used only to bring death and destruction. Beauty and the beast finally became one once again.

"Father…" started Ike, his voice ringing with despair. "This isn't a dream, is it?" He looked around and took a deep breath, knowing he can't deny what became of his beloved father and commander. "This… this is all real."

Mist replied with a sniff, wiping her face of shed tears with her delicate hand. "Dad..." Both siblings' eyes couldn't leave the sight of their father's final resting place.

The evening was inevitably going to turn to night, and the two already felt a chill. "The sun's going down and it's getting cold, Mist," her brother said. "We better go."

A moment passed, and Mist didn't say a thing. She continued to stare at her father's grave, her baby blue eyes forming more tears. "…W-why… Why?"

Not only feeling the pain of loss but also the sense of hopeless guilt, Ike hesitated before answering his sister. "I was at his side… but I couldn't save him. I'm sorry." He was tempted to explain what killed Commander Greil the night before. The final clash between their father and that knight in ebony armor, the master versus the pupil. Just the thought of that knight made Ike's blood boil with rage. In that moment, though, it was not time to let goals of revenge get the best of him; it was time to mourn for their loss.

After a moment of silence, Mist could only sniff some more. Her brother spoke up yet again. "It's… just so unreal."

"Dad's gone, Ike," Mist replied, "and I… I don't know what to do."

In response, Ike wrapped an arm around his dear sister in an attempt to comfort her. "Don't worry. I'm here." He took a deep breath; the fate of the Greil Mercenaries rested on his shoulders, but he wasn't going to let this be the end.

He continued. "I'll lead the company in Father's stead." Before Mist could respond, he went on. "Just as he did, I'll protect you all. You, the princess, everyone. Though I'm far from being the leader he was, I promise that I'll learn. No matter what, Mist, we're all family. As a family we'll continue to stick together, stand for each other..."

"I won't allow it, Ike," Mist countered in a desperate tone, now lightly pounding on her brother's chest in an attempt to convince him otherwise. "Now that Dad's gone, you're all I have left…if you go…if I lose you, I'll be left all by myself. I won't allow it…"

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise you, Mist…" Ike wrapped his arms around his sister. "No one's going."

xxxx

"Pathetic, you all might as well mark yourselves for death if you're seriously going to allow that inexperienced whelp to command! I'm out of here!" Shinon yelled as he marched out of the castle.

Needless to say, there were mixed reactions from the Greil Mercenaries that fateful night of the commander's death. All of the mercenaries, save for a disgruntled Shinon and an unsure Gatrie, would remain ever faithful to Ike, who had now taken over.

"Please reconsider!" Oscar begged as he and his brother Boyd followed the two out. "Is Ike inexperienced? I don't think any of us can deny it. But he's bound to lead like Commander Greil; I have faith in him. Just give him some time!"

Shinon wordlessly made a choking sound as he drew his thumb across his neck and departed. Gatrie remained, still not knowing what to do. A moment later, the sniper yelled out to his companion, "You're not seriously going to stay with these fools, are you, Gatrie?" He walked back in sight of the three with a rather impatient look on his face.

"I… I…" the knight stammered out. He finally spoke out after some hesitation. "We've been with the commander since the beginning, Shinon. Wouldn't it be betrayal if we left even though he's gone now? Titania is staying…"

"It doesn't matter anymore, Gatrie! The commander is dead, and the Greil Mercenaries will follow at this rate! You can do what you want, but I'm not wasting any more time with them. Besides, I can't stand staying here another minute, knowing I'm in the same borders as filthy sub-humans…" Shinon spat and left without a second look.

"You don't need to go with Shinon, Gatrie!" Boyd tried his hand at reasoning. "You've always been a great help to our group, and we'll make it worth your while if you stay! Come on! You can even keep Shinon's share of the gold if you want!"

"I… I'm sorry about this, but I'm leaving as well." Gatrie lowered his head and made a turn to go. "Shinon's been my friend longer than we've been a part of the Greil Mercenaries, and I can't abandon him just like that." With that, the armored knight turned his back on the brothers and followed his friend.

"You'll abandon us, though?" Boyd retorted in anger. "Fine, we don't need you guys! Get the hell out of here!" After a few moments, he calmed down. "Dammit…"

Oscar laid a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "We'll need to keep our heads up no matter how bleak the situation is, Boyd. We may have lost two members, but I'm willing to bet that we'll manage without them. We'll need to stay positive for Ike's sake and everyone else's."

"I just hope you're right…" Boyd said with a sigh as the two went back indoors.

xxxx

Malin couldn't sleep after seeing Commander Greil die in the arms of his son the previous night. As such, he volunteered to keep watch the night after until someone else would take over for the archer. He watched the front entrance as doubts ran through his mind.

_Didn't even know the commander for a day, and he gets killed? And now his son replaces him? _Malin wondered to himself. _I've no right to question the end result, but it's concerning. I heard two of the mercenaries just up and left not that long ago… is it truly worth it if I stay? What if I leave? Crimea's numbers are dwindling. Daein won this the moment they invaded us. The Greil Mercenaries are shrinking in numbers and morale. Would I be safe to seek refuge in Begnion, perhaps? _

Because of these doubts, Malin immediately felt the sensation of guilt pulling at the pit of his stomach. _Then again, Crimea's my home. The Daeins have brought ruin, pain and suffering; we can't just let these bastards do as they please. I won't take this sitting down._

Malin then felt a tap on his shoulder from behind. He shook lightly at the touch and turned around to see Ike, the new commander, the very person he was questioning in his mind just a minute ago. "Scared me there a little, Ike… err, Commander Ike. My apologies."

"Don't worry about it, Malin," the swordsman replied with a raised hand. "I don't mind being referred to just by my name. I don't deserve the title of commander, but that doesn't mean I'll give up that easily. We…no, I, still have a job to do."

"Some foolhardy determination you've got there."

"I want to thank you for joining, Malin, but given the circumstances… no one has to stay. If you have any concern, even a little bit, I wouldn't hold it against you if you left."

Malin replied with some false snark, "You sound unsure of yourself. Some commander you are." He let out a soft chuckle, but then formed yet another serious expression on his face. "Joking there. Anyway, Crimea's my home, Ike. And while I'm not much of a fighter, I'll be damned if we let the Daein army do whatever the hell they want. There is no way I'm doing it alone, though. I'm in as long as we bring the fight back to them."

"I doubt it's a question as to whether we'll continue fighting them, Malin. That started as soon as we decided to take the princess to Gallia and under the king's protection. They'll hunt us and Princess Elincia until the king of Daein reaches his goal."

"You're stuck with me, then," Malin reached his hand out for a shake with Ike, which the latter accepted with no hesitation and shook firmly, "_Commander_."

xxxx

Later that night, Oscar took over for Malin in keeping watch. Before Malin would go back inside, though, Oscar decided it best to at least get to know each other.

As he walked outside and approached Malin from behind, Oscar simply announced his presence to the new mercenary, "I'm sorry if the past few days have been… well, awkward for you. Most of us have been keeping to ourselves since the commander's death." Upon reaching Malin's side, he offered his hand in a friendly manner. "My name's Oscar."

Malin hesitated in introducing himself to give an off-handed comment. "Maybe it would've been better if the new commander would simply introduce us to avoid such awkwardness, huh?" It took him a moment to realize he didn't introduce himself in kind, and as a result, Oscar lowered his hand. "I'm Malin."

Oscar shrugged. "Hmm. Perhaps you're right, but you need to consider the circumstances we're currently under."

Malin nodded in response. "I guess I've been too hard on the guy. He did lose his father, after all. Disregard what I said, then."

Oscar gave a small grin. "I'll do my best to, Malin. Despite the circumstances, it's nice to meet you."

"…Likewise." Oscar couldn't tell if he was being serious or at least just trying not to come off as rude.

"So, are you getting accustomed to the mercenary life? Is your friend, too?" Oscar asked with curiosity, his squinty look never betraying his face.

"I'm sure it'd be easier if I joined at a time when you weren't losing men left and right, to be honest. It's a little stressful, knowing I'll need to pick up the slack," Malin answered with a small frown. He lightened up a little in amusement, thinking about his companion. "I don't think I can say the same for Mia, though; I'm sure she loves the challenge. She could probably take anything the world throws at her with a smile. It'll be quite a shame when she learns she won't be able to all the time."

"Do you have so little faith in your friends?"

"It's not that I don't have faith, Oscar," the archer explained, "it's just reality. Take what just happened to your little ragtag group. I'm sure Ike thought Sir Greil was unstoppable until he ended up dragging his bloody corpse that night. I imagine you all thought the same. Then reality gives you a bite in the ass."

Before Oscar could respond, Malin let a yawn escape his mouth. "Listen, it's been lovely talking with you, Oscar, but I could use a little shut eye, seeing as you're taking over for me… you are taking over for me, right?"

The knight could only nod.

"Wonderful. Thank you for the chat. I'm sure we'll continue another time." With that, Malin walked back in the castle without so much as a goodnight.

Oscar let out a sigh when he was out of earshot, feeling slightly tested at the young man's remarks. _I'm sure we will… _thought the knight with a shrug.

Malin walked back inside the castle that would have been pitch black if not for the few torches that were lit throughout. He passed a room where he heard soft prayers.

The healer of the mercenaries, a priest named Rhys, was on his knees, paying no heed to the dirt that was gathering on his pure white robes.

"Goddess Ashera," Rhys beckoned the deity with a voice that sounded like he was softly crying moments ago, "please take our dearly departed, Commander Greil, into your gracious arms. May he watch over all of us in the coming days that may be the most testing for us. And may we all pull through, knowing what he always said: we are a family. We're here for each other."

Malin considered the frail priest's words while leaving so he wouldn't be intruding any more than he already had. _Sir Greil really said that, huh? _he wondered to himself. _This is probably the most dysfunctional family I've ever seen. _Still, the archer thought it was quite the sentiment the commander left behind. He shrugged it off despite himself, heading to his room to get some much needed rest.

xxxx

The next day came too quickly for the Greil Mercenaries. Despite all of the recent happenings with the loss of Commander Greil and the departure of two of the original members, though, the sun's graceful rays somehow made some of the group feel somewhat optimistic. Not for one of the newcomers, Malin, however.

Said bowman was gasping for breath in the early hours of the morning, grasping a practice sword in his hands. Mia sprinted towards her sparring partner, not bothering to give Malin a break. She swung her practice sword horizontally at Malin's torso, to which he tried to block. Successful at faking him out, however, Mia swept Malin's legs from under him, tripping him and following through with a blow to his chest.

Malin remained laying down, sweat dripping down his face. His clothing clung tight against his skin, only adding to the archer's discomfort. Mia reached out and grabbed his arms, pulling him up. Malin didn't bother to nod in thanks. He stood up straight and dropped the practice sword that Mia lent to him. He then bent over, resting his hands on his knees. In between deep breaths, he complained to his friend, "Mia… this was… one of your worst… ideas!"

"Nonsense, Malin!" Mia countered. She looked like she enjoyed the sparring match and it hardly looked like she broke a sweat. "We'll need to be able to pull our weight and even more now that our group's struggling! Greil's gone, and so are that knight and sniper!"

Malin took a moment to finally get his breathing back to normal. He then stood straight back up. "I know what you mean, but this isn't going to work for several reasons. One: I'm an archer. Two: I'm not fast like you, and nor do I have to be if I remain in the backlines, which will be happening. And most importantly-"

"But what would happen if somebody snuck behind our front lines and got to you?" Mia interrupted, poking her friend in the chest. "You can't just whack somebody with your bow; you'll need to protect yourself with something else!"

"It's highly unlikely something like that would happen, Mia. You never leave me alone," he answered with an annoyed voice, making it sound worse than it truly was.

He mumbled under his breath, "Eh, at least you're cute." Assuming Mia didn't hear that, he continued. "Just try not to bother training me to use something I don't feel at all comfortable with; I can't stand the thought of direct combat."

"Aw, and you were doing so well!" Mia complained.

"You gave me a beating while I couldn't even land a hit on you!" Before Mia could put up any more of an argument, Malin finished. "I know why you're trying to train me to use a sword… I think. But seriously, no more sparring. Why don't you just spar with Ike instead?"

"Oh, I couldn't do that," Mia replied in a concerned voice. "I don't wanna bother him at a time like this. He just lost his own father, after all."

"Right… okay, so not Ike. How about somebody who's not me? Maybe the priest?" asked Malin, though he mentioned the priest in a joking tone.

Mia suddenly made an "oh" expression on her face. She then went on about some fortune of hers while walking back inside the castle, presumably to find the poor healer.

Malin simply sighed, surprised that it worked, but also relieved that he was off the hook. He took a seat against the cool, stony structure of the Gallian castle and rested. Several minutes later, his rest was disturbed when he heard someone walking his way. Not bothering to look, he continued to rest his eyes. "Enjoying the air?" he heard Ike ask.

"Just a little, Commander." Malin finally opened his eyes and looked up to make eye contact. He noticed that Ike flinched a little at the title but paid it no mind. An awkward moment of silence remained after the short exchange of the two. "Nice morning, huh?"

Ike nodded. "Seeing the sun makes me feel strangely alive. Despite all our losses, it shines still as if nothing happened."

"The ramblings of a simple man," Malin chuckled. "Don't need much to feel the earth beneath your feet despite all that's happened in the past couple of days." With that said, the archer stood back up, stretching his limbs that continued to throb after the sparring match with Mia. Once he finished, he started walking towards the sea of trees that surrounded the abandoned castle.

"Where are you going?" Ike asked with an eyebrow slightly raised.

"Nowhere, don't worry about me. I just want to take a little stroll; I've never been to Gallia before and wouldn't mind doing a little sightseeing. I'll be back soon." Malin then disappeared in the dense forest.

xxxx

After a few minutes of walking, Malin never saw anything noteworthy other than thick vegetation. Perhaps he thought he'd catch the sight of a laguz, but Gebal Castle was probably too close to the border between Gallia and Crimea. Despite the efforts between the departed king Ramon and Gallia's ruler, Caineghis, discrimination was still ever present in both races.

Malin's first sight of a laguz was only a few days ago in Fort Meritenne; since then, he reminded himself to never get on their bad side. Despite his fear, he shared the view of his father before him, which was equality. Malin immediately scoffed at the thought of his father when he stopped by a tree and rested against its trunk for a brief couple of minutes. _Always overthinking, _the archer criticized himself, and then made his way back to the castle.

As he continued to walk amongst the trees, Malin thought he heard something behind him. Not wanting to risk anything, he turned around and saw in the distance some black-clad soldiers. In their company was a frail-looking girl with lavender hair; she obviously didn't look like she joined the Daeins under her own volition. "…Well, shit," he muttered under his breath. He sprinted back to the castle, not without muttering more unpleasant words.

Minutes after running for his own life, Malin reached the inside of the castle, gasping for breath. He stopped, landing on his hands and knees, feeling the cold stone floor. _Maybe I should start running when Daeins aren't chasing us across Tellius, _Malin thought to himself. The only one to meet him was none other than Ike. The others were presumably keeping to themselves, as few marks have passed since dawn.

"Malin? What happened?" Ike asked the archer in a concerned voice.

"I… B-bastards… They're… com-" Malin only managed to reply. Sweat was dripping down his face, and his lungs were burning.

Before Malin could blurt out anything else in gasps, Ike held up a finger, silencing him. The commander then passed Malin a canteen, which he accepted gratefully and downed the water in long gulps, not pausing once to let any air in.

Malin handed the canteen back to Ike, slowing down his labored breathing.

"Let's try this again, Malin," Ike said in a serious and commanding voice. "Tell me what you saw."

Wordlessly, Malin nodded. Before he could speak, though, Soren approached Ike in a sprint. The mage was apparently outside as well, as he knew of the situation at hand. "Ike, bad news! Look out the window!"

Ike and Malin followed Soren to a nearby window, which was merely just a gap to let air run through the abandoned structure. All three looked through the window, seeing it starting to rain and the less welcoming sight: a large number of Daein troops armed to the teeth and not looking interested to talk things out.

"…We're surrounded. Damn. Greil Mercenaries!" Ike shouted in frustration. The exclamation echoed throughout the small castle, and the rest of the mercenaries met at the front and spotted the opposition through other windows. They all rushed to gather their equipment without saying a word.

Mist and Rolf, however, continued to look at what the group would be facing. They looked like they wanted to do something, anything, to help, but something kept them from doing so. The two youths looked hopeless at the situation.

"So this was what got you running, huh?" Ike asked Malin in a smug tone.

"Yeah," Malin answered. "These guys are so stupid they marched into Gallia like they own the place! Ike, I know we've only been facing nothing but Daeins, but I guess I didn't think of how much these guys like you."

Ike didn't reply; he headed out to the entrance, ready to protect the castle. Everyone else followed. "Wait a minute, Commander!" Malin called out to him.

"We don't have a minute! Soren, what do you recommend we do here?" the commander asked his right hand man. "We're surrounded and this doesn't look good for us."

It didn't even take a moment for the mage to formulate a plan. "We have three choke points that need to be defended. If we let loose for just one second, we could fail. The only thing I see worth doing is having everyone protect them. I can aid from afar, as can he," Soren said, nodding towards Malin. "Needless to say, we keep Rhys out of harm's way, as usual."

The commander nodded. Before Ike could move, Malin distracted him. "One thing! When I saw the Daein soldiers, they had some girl that wasn't in the same guise. I'm assuming they're making her fight, so maybe we can talk to her so it's one less threat."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it! Greil Mercenaries, move out!" Ike sprinted to the east end that was already protected by Oscar to aid him. Titania held the west with Soren close behind. Rhys kept a close eye on everyone should his healing be needed. Mia and Boyd covered the south, already facing horsemen. Malin grabbed an arrow from his quiver and stood behind the myrmidon and fighter, ready to fight.

Malin asked himself in sarcasm, "Where the hell could we find some Gallian soldiers?"

The Daeins were on the attack already. A horseman armed with a spear rode towards Boyd, going in for a stab. The fighter dodged, however, with a quick duck. As soon as he ducked, Malin launched an arrow that landed in the soldier's chest. The stricken soldier clutched at his fatal wound and fell off his mount.

Immediately covering for the fallen Daein, another horseman arrived. Not giving him an opportunity, Boyd swung his poleaxe upward, the force knocking the soldier to the ground with a huge gash in his torso.

Mia herself was fighting off an axe-wielding fighter. As the fighter tried using his brute strength to overtake the myrmidon, her speed was too much for him, her dodges being graceful as some sort of dance. Her dance would ultimately end, however, with a swift swing of her blade, felling the fighter with very little effort.

xxxx

The Greil Mercenaries were successfully fighting off the Daein soldiers, even with the amount of reinforcements they had. The leader of the forces must have held great command of the Daein army to have so many troops.

The southern entrance was protected still by Mia, Boyd and Malin. They had a brief moment where no soldiers approached. It was no time to rest, however, as a mage walked, visibly shaken either by the amount of fallen soldiers before her or simply the drizzle. "It's her!" Malin shouted. He wasted no time in shoving past the two, sprinting to the mage with lavender hair.

"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Boyd yelled in response. Mia took after the archer, somehow feeling responsible for him. "Wait, you too?" The fighter, while not sure of what was going on, kept his position. He knew better than to give Daeins the ground they sought if any more soldiers came.

Malin closed the distance between himself and the mage, who was holding a pale yellow colored tome in her weak grip. Mia caught up with him in no time. The young myrmidon assumed the archer had a good reason to approach the mage, but she kept an eye on the entrance to see if there were any soldiers attempting to sneak to it.

"You're not with these soldiers, are you?" Malin asked in a serious tone. "I recommend you get out of here while you have the chance."

The mage was still shivering, ready to explain herself. "These… these soldiers gave me no choice but to fight for them. They captured me some time after I lost the convoy I was traveling with."

"I think I know the convoy you're talking about. Haven't seen them, but I heard some talk travelers were staying here and made an agreement with our commander to hang on to our goods and such."

The girl's face brightened. "That must be them! Oh, I shouldn't have let myself get separated from the-" the mage was interrupted by a sneeze. The archer couldn't help but feel a little pity for the frail girl. She looked like she could hardly even stand on her own two feet.

"Little pathetic, aren't you?" Malin asked in a condescending tone. He immediately slapped himself for his lack of manners. "Me and my big… Sorry. I mean…there's no reason for you to be out here. You can go into the castle right away. We'll cover you."

The girl meekly shook her head. "No, I'd much rather fight with you." She showed her thunder tome that was hidden by her mantle.

"A mage, huh? Well, I don't see why not. Follow us back to the entrance; we'll protect you, umm…" Malin realized he never got her name.

"My name is Ilyana. Thank you for taking me i-" Another sneeze from the poor girl.

"I'm Malin. And the excitable girl is Mia," Malin introduced her whilst pulling said myrmidon towards the two. Mia had a friendly smile on her face and was about to speak, but the archer stopped her. "Let's just get back befo… son of a bitch."

Several troops marched towards the trio, with the commander, an armored knight, leading them. "You're not going anywhere. Forward, men!" the knight yelled in a booming voice. He and his reinforcements began to charge once more.

Malin, Mia and their new ally, Ilyana, sprinted back to the southern entrance, where Boyd was waiting. To no one's surprise, the fighter had a dumbfounded look on his face at the amount of reinforcements.

xxxx

There was no sign of the Daein reinforcements stopping. For each troop cut down by the mercenaries, two would take his place. The Greil Mercenaries kept fighting despite it all. At this point, everyone was strained, their muscles begging them to stop. Even Soren and Rhys were exhausted from all the magic spells casted and healing.

_I cannot let this be the end, _thought Ike. _We have far too much riding on our shoulders to fail. _His arms were trembling and burning with each swing of his sword to attack or parry a blow, yet he couldn't allow himself one moment of weakness for the Daeins to exploit. _Not… yet! _Ike went for a stab, felling a soldier. Yet another took his place.

All of a sudden, a booming roar sounded out around the castle. A cat laguz rushed through one of the entrances, killing each soldier with its razor sharp claws. She jumped over Ike to deal with any more soldiers. Ike fell to his knees in response, dropping his bloodied sword and sighed in long, labored, breaths. "Th…thank you…" he managed to say; though it was his extension of gratitude to the cat, it was also to his departed father, for he may have had a hand in keeping an eye on them.

The entrance protected by Titania and Soren ran out of soldiers as well, them meeting the end by a blue tiger. Titania backed from the tiger, letting him pass, knowing he must be from Castle Gallia. Soren moved out of the way as well, but with a look of sheer disgust in his eyes.

The tiger and cat met up at the southern entrance where Boyd, Mia, Malin and Ilyana were quickly losing their strength. The four saw the two laguz and immediately retreated. They were relieved at the help, knowing there was no way they would've lasted much longer. Boyd and Mia were taking heavy breaths, while Malin shook his arms. Though pulling light arrows was an easy task, doing it nonstop took its toll with a burning sensation. He was surprised he had a few arrows left in his quiver. Ilyana was the least tired, but it didn't help with how cold she was in the rain. She was hungry, too, though, her hunger matching that of a lion remained unbeknownst to the group until later.

It all seemed to be over in an instant due to the swiftness of the cat and the ferocity of the tiger. They let none live, knowing that letting even one soldier retreat would be tantamount to the failure of Gallia's security.

xxxx

When all Daeins were taken out, including the commander of their forces, the Greil Mercenaries and the Gallian warriors, later known as Lethe and Mordecai, went back inside the castle. Some roaring and magic spells were heard, but there was no bloodshed.

Malin found the convoy Ike recently employed at the end of a hall, reminding himself to stock up on more arrows. The door was partially opened, welcoming any who had need. He pushed the door and let himself in. What he saw was a modest smithy, with a small amount of chests and barrels that he assumed held forging materials.

The first one to approach him was a middle-aged burly man, assumed to be the blacksmith, who was balding but had a great, brown beard.

"Greetings, friend!" the man said with some enthusiasm and slapped a calloused hand on the archer's shoulder. Malin almost collapsed from the weight, as the blacksmith towered over him in stature. He paid it no mind and introduced the convoy. "My name's Muston; I'm the man for the job if you need weapons." _Charmed. _"The young lady here is Aimee," Muston nodded to a black-haired woman. Malin took note of her with a nod, to which the woman smiled and winked. "She takes care of any necessities."

Muston motioned for the archer to follow him to the other side of the room. Not turning around to see if he followed, Muston introduced the two brothers at the end of the room. Oddly enough, they were playing a game on top of two barrels with a board and figurines. They also had a pair of quills and parchment. Muston let out a warm, hearty laugh at them. "Still going at it, you two? We've got a customer!"

At that, the two stopped their little game and stood up from their small wooden chairs. "Ah, excellent!" the blonde brother said smiling and in a confident voice. He got up from his seat, as did his brown-haired companion. "Name's Jorge, this here," motioning towards his sibling, "is my brother Daniel. I'll buy anything you don't want out of your hands."

Daniel spoke up but with a softer voice. "I'm a craftsman and I specialize in made-to-order items."

Malin nodded. "I see. My name's Malin and I'm just trying to get by in this whole mercenary deal. That said, I've got something you can take off my hands right this minute," the archer said, changing his mind on simply purchasing more arrows. He showed him his small bow and the small amount of iron-tipped arrows in his quiver.

"Great!" Jorge responded. He went over to a nearby table and used a weighing scale to determine how much it all was worth. It ended up being worth a few pieces of silver. The blonde handed the small amount of silver to Malin, the archer accepting the meager amount.

"Thanks," Malin said. He went about-face and walked up to Muston, who was polishing a forged broadsword. "Muston, I'll need something more than the short bow I had before. What's the best you have?"

The smith put down his work and said, "Well, we can provide you a steel-"

"Say no more," Malin interrupted. "That'd be perfect."

Once departing from the makeshift smithy, the archer had in his grip a newly-forged steel bow, a quiver filled with steel-tipped arrows tied to his waist and a lighter pocket. The bow was bigger and heavier than the short bow he used before, but the tradeoff was more power with each nock of an arrow.

"Already taking advantage of the convoy, are we?" Mia asked while walking up to him.

Malin simply nodded in response.

"I've been meaning to tell you something," the girl said, her usual contagious grin turning into a thin frown. The pair was already back where Malin slept the night before. _This girl has no sense of privacy… _the archer thought. He immediately shook the thought away.

"Something up? You're not usually this serious."

"It's what you did when we were fighting off the Daein soldiers; isn't it obvious?" Mia asked, resting her hands on her hips.

"Must've done something stupid if it's got you worked up," Malin said with a shrug.

"I'm not worked u-… Forget that. You ran after Ilyana like you didn't care about your own skin. You should at least tell me if you're gonna run after somebody like that!"

"So you can remain attached to my hip?" Mia had a bigger frown at her friend's response, but she didn't say anything. Malin continued. "Look, I'm sorry, Mia. I guess that was dumb of me. But of course, our side was devoid of soldiers wanting to cut us down at the moment. Oh well. We got a new recruit and nothing bad happened…"

"…Until the commander and his men took after us! That was a close call, you know?"

"I'll stop acting without thinking then. Happy?"

The young woman's frown lessened. "Remember what I told you when we just got hired by Crimea before all this?" Mia asked.

Malin asked a question in return, "After you just decided to befriend somebody and picked me? I know I'm handsome, but-"

Mia shoved a finger into his torso and he coughed. She lightly chuckled. "Now I know you're joking there!"

"Oh, I'm so hurt," the archer said melodramatically, one hand on his forehead and the other over his heart.

Mia shook her head at his sarcasm. "Anyway, I told you I'd protect you, seeing as you were just a lone archer! I meant it that day and I'm not going back on my promises!"

"How sweet," Malin said in more thick sarcasm. "Kidding. I remember you saying that, but I just thought that's what anyone would say if there were an archer beside him, and in your case, her."

"You're my friend, Malin. Even if I didn't make that promise, I'd still protect you!"

Malin gave up on his usual sarcasm and sighed. "…Thank you, Mia," he said. She smiled in return.

A moment of silence followed until the purple-haired myrmidon broke it with a change of subject. "I'd still like you to train with me, though."

"…I really thought I could've opted out of that."

_End of chapter._

xxxx

_**(Author's Notes): **My apologies for the delay; I hit quite a "bump" in writing, but this is my addressing it. I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again._

_Notes can be found on my Livejournal. As always, feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading._


	3. Alliance

_Mad King's War: Deliverer_

_Written by: ExposedWiresExposedVeins_

_Beta'd by: DarkEclipse45_

_Chapter Three: Alliance_

The recent encounter with the Daeins within the borders of Gallia seemed to last far too long to the Greil Mercenaries as the sun set on the bloody day. With the arrival of the Gallian warriors, the agile Lethe and the behemoth Mordecai, sent by King Caineghis himself, there was talk of marching further into Gallia once it was dawn.

Considering the relentless attack of the Daein forces that took place, Ike agreed with little reluctance and immediately relayed the information to his mercenary group via Soren.

"Meeting the king of beasts so soon, huh?" Malin asked with a raised eyebrow in response to the mage once he told the archer. "Well, what then?" Mia was still in Malin's room; she narrowed her eyes at him upon his response.

Soren narrowed his eyes all the same. "I trust Ike's judgment on what the Greil Mercenaries will do once we reach King Caineghis and the princess of Crimea," he said with a neutral voice.

"Tell the boss-man he has nothing to worry about!" Mia spoke for herself and her friend. "We're with you guys no matter what! Right, Malin?" Mia shoved an elbow at his side.

Malin merely sighed at her abruptness, rubbing where she hit him. "I already told him where I stand. I haven't changed my mind. To Castle Gallia we go, then." Soren nodded at the two and left without a word. "Seems like ever the friendly mage, huh Mia?" Malin sarcastically observed.

"You're one to talk," Mia countered with a joking smile.

"I have my moments," he replied with no hint of denial. "Now get out of my room, would you? For once, a good night's rest would do me some good." Malin lightly placed his hands on Mia's shoulders and led her out.

Mia rolled her eyes as she was out the door. "Yeah, you sure do have your moments. Not even gonna say please?"

"You're asking too much," Malin simply stated. "Now if you would be so kind, don't bother me again tonight."

"I guess you're right about getting some sleep. You'll need all the rest you can for the next duel at dawn, partner! Goodnight!" Mia then made her way to her room, which was a short distance away.

_I hate my life, _thought the unfortunate archer as he frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Maybe I should just tie her up in her sleep…_

xxxx

Dawn came rather slowly for a change to the mercenaries. At this point, everyone was awake and preparing to march to Castle Gallia.

Lethe, the orange cat, grew impatient due to how long the beorc were taking. Her companion Mordecai, however, enjoyed his free time by relaxing at the base of a tree next to the castle. Some of the Greil Mercenaries marveled at how such a large tiger would be so gentle in the company of a small field mouse that approached him. Lethe would just roll her eyes at how unlike a warrior of Gallia Mordecai acted.

Mordecai's rest was interrupted by a pained groan. He got up and decided to investigate. Not that far away was what appeared to be a sparring match. It would've been called a sparring match, however, if one certain archer were able to put up a fight against the lightning-swift strokes of a myrmidon. From the tiger's perspective, it was very one-sided.

Miraculously dodging a swing, Malin kneeled and rested on the ground, gasping in deep breaths. Mordecai walked up to the two with a curious expression on his face. "Hm. You beorc are amusing," the tiger observed.

"Oh, hey!" Mia exclaimed with a smile. "It's the tiger that saved us yesterday!" She waved to him with a grin never leaving her face.

The laguz introduced himself. "Greetings, beorc. I am Mordecai."

"I'm Mia, and this," she said whilst patting the archer's shoulder, "is Malin!"

Malin finally spoke up, albeit hesitantly. "…Thanks for saving us back there."

"You are welcome. Malin, Mia, I hope we may become-"

"Mordecai!" Lethe yelled out as she approached the trio. She had a fierce look on her face. "Just what do you think you're doing with these humans?"

"What, are you his keeper or something?" Malin asked in a joking tone.

The female laguz hissed in anger and tried to keep it in check by taking a deep breath. After a moment, she spoke. "You best stay out of this." The archer merely folded his arms and frowned. Mia said nothing.

"Lethe, these two aren't like the little mage," Mordecai said in defense.

Lethe turned back to the tiger. "It matters not, Mordecai. You've seen one human; you've seen them all."

"Lethe, please do not say such bad things about beorc. Malin and Mia are kind, as is Ike."

"Hmph. I've had enough," Lethe finished, her patience wearing thin. "I warn you to not get so close to these two, Ike or anyone. Keep in mind we can only trust our brothers in the end." She walked away from the three, shaking her head.

"Pff. Well, it was nice meeting you, Lethe," Malin called out in sarcasm. The laguz ignored him.

Mordecai sighed. "Please forgive Lethe. Distrust of you beorc still runs deep in Gallia for some. I only hope we can bridge the gap between us."

"Don't worry about it," Mia answered with a renewed smile. She then turned to Malin. "You wanna get back to sparring?"

"I never wanted to in the first place…" Malin complained.

Mordecai grinned at the two. "Amusing still."

xxxx

Seeing that his mercenaries were all ready to go, Commander Ike let both Lethe and Mordecai know. Not a moment later, the two laguz led the group further within the borders of Gallia.

Such fact was of some relief to the Greil Mercenaries; several thought it would be a smooth road ahead with no more confrontations resulting in bloodshed. Once they reach Castle Gallia and its king, they would be safe while the commander decides what's next.

Said leader was thinking as such while he was marching behind Lethe and Mordecai, with Soren on his left. The two didn't speak much after the conflict between the mage and the Gallian warriors yesterday; he wanted to address what happened.

"You know, Soren, since we'll be with Lethe and Mordecai up until we reach Castle Gallia, I hope you can be able to tolerate the laguz," said Ike in a soft voice that only he and Soren could hear. "Not only them, though, as we're headed further into Gallia."

Soren sighed. "How could you be fine with all this when that sub-hu… tiger pounced on you?"

Ike shrugged. "Simple. Mordecai didn't mean to attack me; besides, he apologized. And did you already forget how those two saved us when we were vastly outnumbered?"

The pale mage said nothing. Not waiting for a response, the commander continued, "I don't mean to sound harsh, but it was your words that led to Mordecai attacking. I may not understand why you feel this way towards the laguz, but you'll need to watch what you say."

Soren wished to drop the topic altogether. "…I will do my best for your sake, Ike. Let's just move on."

"If there's anything you need to talk to me about, Soren, I'm always here for you," Ike concluded and placed a hand on the mage's shoulder. Soren cringed at the touch, but his friend paid it no mind. That all said and done, they continued onward.

_I doubt you or anyone else will ever understand, _thought Soren cynically. _Never…_

xxxx

Several marks have passed since the Greil Mercenaries departed Castle Gebal with Lethe and Mordecai, and the sight of an endless sea of trees was replaced by tall mountains to the west and a beach to the east, with fewer trees surrounding the area. The beach had a few modestly sized cabins resting by the sea.

The group stopped for a few minutes as they beheld the new sight as well as a nearby structure. Lethe and Mordecai immediately recognized it as Castle Soan, named after the legendary lion that helped defeat the dark god eons ago.

The two warriors looked upon it with reverence for the father of the beast tribe nation. "We are close," started Mordecai. "Once we pass here, Castle Gallia will be in sight in just a few marks." He turned to Ike. "Are you all well enough to continue? Do you wish to break?"

The commander shook his head. "We're fine. I'd rather not stop until we reach the king."

"Are you sure?" Lethe questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I was sure your skinny little beorc legs would be begging for a rest."

Ike insisted, "You don't need to worry about us."

"Good," replied Mordecai. "Then we will continue."

The cat raised an eye. "Hmph. You beorc surprise m-"

"Hold!" Mordecai interrupted her. He sniffed the air and grunted in response to what his senses founded. "I smell… iron. Other beorc are here. Well-armed ones."

The Greil Mercenaries sighed, knowing their struggle was far from over. "Here? Come the hell on!" complained Malin, who was standing in the middle of the group. The archer was the only one who spoke; some looked over his way, as did Lethe. "What in Tellius are your forces doing? Are they completely unaware that Daeins are treating your borders like sh-" Mia forcefully shoved an elbow into his stomach.

"Enough, Malin," the myrmidon softly said, feeling embarrassed of her friend's rudeness.

Malin coughed a few times and gave up. "You really need to stop that…"

Lethe looked at Malin in anger, her knuckles white and fists slightly trembling. Mordecai had a stoic look on his face as he held up a muscular arm to prevent her from attacking. "You dare defy our brothers, human?! Hold your tongue!" It took all of Lethe's restraint from transforming and ripping his throat out.

After a moment, Ike spoke up. "Please accept my apologies on behalf of one of my men's behavior, Lethe and Mordecai. I'll see that he gets properly disciplined."

Lethe let go of her anger and sighed, folding her arms. Knowing Daein soldiers were at the aforementioned castle, the feline thought for a moment before speaking. She turned to Ike and concluded, "Well, I suppose we can go around to avoid a fight."

Ike refused with a shake of his head. "We're not going to run away; we'll make them regret defying Gallia's sovereignty."

xxxx

With Soren's plans set, the Greil Mercenaries as well as Lethe and Mordecai were ready for the fight to capture Castle Soan. And despite protests, Ike's sister Mist and Oscar and Boyd's brother Rolf joined the fight. Mist remained by Ike's side and Rolf stayed by Oscar. All four of them, along with Soren, Lethe and Mordecai, took the south. Due to an injury she was recovering from the last battle, Titania stayed back to protect the convoy.

Boyd, Mia, Malin, Ilyana and Rhys took the beach. Boyd and Mia took the front while Malin and Ilyana watched their backs. Rhys stayed close behind, the grip on his healing staff tightening in anticipation.

The fight started in an instant. Several Daein axe fighters sprinted towards Boyd and Mia, murderous intent in their eyes. They swung their steel axes with as much force as they could. Mia sidestepped and swung her blade in an arc, felling the foe. The other's axe was caught in the blade of Boyd's. The green-haired fighter swung his foot to trip the Daein fighter over. Before he made contact with the sand, Mia fatally slashed his chest.

A mage with a crimson colored tome muttered a few words as a ball of fire formed. It stopped midair until the mage pointed his hand at the group. The fireball flew at an alarming speed, only to be countered with a sudden thunderbolt, thanks to Ilyana. As the two spells collided and dissipated, Malin made use of his new steel bow and launched an arrow into the mage's neck. The mage made a short choking sound as he fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.

As the five mercenaries marched further into the coastline, they found a shirtless man approaching a cabin with an axe that was coated with a sickly black color. Malin launched an arrow in hopes of stopping the brigand. It flew over his head by an inch, only resulting in it shearing a few hairs from his head. The arrow buried itself in the cabin wall as it caught the man's attention. He whirled around, sprinting towards the archer whilst swinging his axe with wild abandon.

Malin didn't hesitate in preparing another arrow. Before he could launch, however, the brigand stopped suddenly, with the end of a sword piercing through his belly. He grunted and fell into the sand, never to rise again. Mia dried her sword of the blood on the brigand's pants, wiping her forehead of some sweat. She looked over to Malin, her eyes widening in shock. "Watch out!"

The archer looked behind him and saw a brigand like the one they just killed. He was dressed in the same garb and carried the same kind of axe. The brigand swung his axe horizontally. The archer jumped to the side, the axe's blade barely cutting his side, resulting in a small wound in his torso. Malin fell to his knees with a hand over his wound.

As the brigand ended his swing, he met an end as Boyd smashed his own axe into the brigand's back. Mia sprinted to Malin's side, her hands on him. She turned him around and saw his torso bleeding. "Oh no! Rhys!"

The healer ran over to the two while Boyd and Ilyana stood by to protect the trio. Mia exposed the archer's wound by pulling up his shirt. The wound didn't look severe, but no chances were made, as the axe that hit him had the familiar black liquid. Malin, now lying down, didn't look at his wound; he instead looked up to the sky, taking slow breaths as he was shaking in pain. "D-dammit! Is… is it bad?"

Rhys looked at the wound as he dug a hand into his pack. He pulled a small vial from it, eyeing it. "It probably would be without this." The healer popped open the container and poured the concoction into the wound. Whatever poison that may have reached the wound was purged.

Malin gritted his teeth at the burning sensation. "Shit!"

Rhys shook his head lightly at the cursing and held his staff a few inches from the wound. The archer felt a warm sensation replacing the burning. A moment later, Malin looked over to Mia, the myrmidon looking a bit relieved. "…Go make yourself useful, huh?" Mia wordlessly joined Boyd and Ilyana towards the cabins.

The heal staff helped seal the wound, but not completely. Rhys then wrapped a white bandage around Malin's wound. "There we are," said Rhys with a serious look on his face. "Now just try not to let anyone hit you again, won't you? I don't have any more antitoxins."

The archer stood up, ran a hand through his short brown hair and grabbed his bow that was resting on the sand. "You're telling me that shit was poison?!"

xxxx

For Ike and his men, their way as just as challenging if not more. They stayed back by a group of trees, waiting for the first group of Daein troops to reach them and attack.

A myrmidon sprinted and attempted a stab at Ike. Ike parried it and closed in for a stab of his own. The myrmidon parried it in return, but died as Oscar lunged forward with his spear with great force.

A soldier jumped up and attempted to jab Oscar with his lance the moment he killed the myrmidon. He didn't get to his goal, as an arrow landed in his chest. The soldier fell over, his back colliding with the grassy plain.

Rolf, the one who killed that soldier, fell to his knees, realizing he just killed a man. His very first kill. Shinon would have been proud, he imagined. That didn't take the guilt away. Neither did the fact that he protected his eldest brother. The boy felt a few tears form in his eyes and let his bow drop to the ground. "I… I…"

Ike's group moved forward to meet the rest of the troops head on, but Rolf refused to move. Seeing the boy in his current state from behind, Mist ran to get him. "Rolf, what's the matter?"

He sniffed and wiped his eyes, but didn't attempt a reply.

"Rolf! Please tell me what happened!" Mist cried, putting her hands on the boy's shaking shoulders.

No reply.

"Rolf, look at me!" Mist moved her hands to either side of his head and forced him to look at her. "Are you hurt? What is it?!" Mist didn't see any injury. All she saw were tears falling down Rolf's reddened face.

He sniffed again and pointed a finger toward a dead soldier, an arrow stuck in his chest. Mist looked back into Rolf's eyes. "You… you did that…"

"I… killed him. I… did it," was all Rolf said. His own eyes went wide, acknowledging the fact.

Mist wiped the tears that were falling down his face with her thumb. "You did, Rolf. But you did it to protect your brothers… you did it to protect all of us."

"I… I did?" he asked.

"Oh, of course you did, silly!" Mist exclaimed. She hugged Rolf tightly, trying her best to be strong for her friend. She ran a hand back and forth on Rolf's back, helping comfort the boy.

xxxx

Throughout the rest of the battle, Malin took it easy, though he would still assist from a distance. With no innocents put in harm's way and all Daeins and brigands on the beach dead, the group met up with Ike's forces by the castle. Among them was a pink-haired knight that was mounted on a pure white pegasus. _Ike's really good at making friends, _thought the man.

The commander of the Daein forces was all that was left of resistance. Malin sighed as he watched Mordecai and Lethe fight off a black-armored halberdier. The leader was clearly outmatched and outmuscled as the cat feigned with a short jump. He went in for a stab, but before he could make contact, he met the end of a tiger's claws slashing his exposed neck.

The commander fell to the ground, blood leaking through his lips. He managed to choke out a prayer before dying. "Daein… my brothers… c-cleanse my shame…"

Now with all resistance eliminated, the Greil Mercenaries took back Castle Soan, relieved that it was all over. Once all wounds were healed thanks to Rhys and Mist, they wasted no time in resuming the trip to Castle Gallia.

xxxx

It was late in the afternoon when the group reached King Caineghis of Gallia. All beheld the slowly setting sun hit the vast walls of the castle. Surrounding the castle, unsurprising, was another ocean of trees the mercenaries now got accustomed to.

Several minutes after Ike met with the king and Princess Elincia, Lethe, Mordecai and some other laguz assisted all of the mercenaries in leading them to their own rooms. Malin marveled at the sight of his room identical to all the others. It housed a large bed and a lantern sitting on a modest nightstand. It was automatically better than sleeping atop a cold, stone floor with only a modest cot for warmth and comfort. "Damn… please extend my thanks to the king!" Malin exclaimed with a smirk. He turned around to remember it was Mordecai who led him to his room. He felt guilty. "And Mordecai, I'm sorry about what I said earlier." It felt a little awkward, seeing how mad Lethe was at him before, and he was fearful of how the tiger would react.

"Please do not worry," replied Mordecai. "You were just angry. I believe we all were."

Malin scratched the back of his head. "You're probably right."

The laguz left him alone in his room. Malin moaned as he gracelessly fell face first into the bed. The day wasn't over and yet with all that occurred, the marching, the fighting and that wound, exhausted him to a level he was almost unfamiliar with.

He heard someone walk into his room; Malin guessed it wouldn't be anyone other than Mia to bother him. He was right when he felt a hand pat his back lightly and heard the memorable voice ring out with some concern, "Are you feeling all right?"

Malin groaned in annoyance. "Noooooo," was heard muffled from the pillow the young man was resting his head on.

"Good to know you're okay, Malin," said Mia. If Malin's eyes were open at this point, he would have rolled them. She took a seat on Malin's bed. "You worried me back there."

Malin shifted into a sitting position and rested his head in his hands. "Yeah, sorry. If you didn't warn me back there, though, I'd have a bigger concern than just a small gash… Thank you."

Mia smiled in return. "You're welcome." A moment passed, and the young woman pat the archer's back again but with more force. "C'mon, lazy bones. I hear one of the king's chefs are cooking, and we better make it to supper fast before Ilyana gets there. Can you believe how much that girl eats in an instant?!"

"To think she eats more than meatheads like Boyd and Ike…"

"I heard that," the commander announced himself by the wooden door. He stepped into the room and saw the archer and myrmidon sitting side by side on the bed. "You do know you have your own room, Mia, right?"

Malin shrugged and lightly shoved an elbow against his friend. "I've been telling her that since day one, Ike… Commander… whatever." Mia rolled her eyes in response.

"I've felt responsible for him since day one," said Mia, "and I feel awful for not protecting the guy." She motioned for Malin to show his wound; he lifted his shirt partially.

Ike didn't even know Malin was wounded until then. "We all get our share of wounds. Are you okay?"

"This little thing? You both worry too much. It's fine, though I would feel better if you don't have to discipline your man," answered the archer. He cracked a joking grin.

"Don't worry about it," Ike replied with a shake of his head. "Believe it or not, but I heard you apologize to Mordecai, so I at least know you feel guilty. I suppose that's enough." It turns out Ike was nearby longer than Malin thought.

"Don't even have the heart to punish your men?" Malin asked with some surprise.

"Actually, I can do it for you, Boss!" Mia said with a smile. "I can just have my partner here spar with me twice as long!"

"No," was all Malin said in refusal.

Ike smirked as he played along. "Oh, I don't think you're in a position to refuse."

Malin frowned. "You don't understand. This girl makes me spar every morning and she won't stop kicking my ass."

"Hold on, I have a new idea. I can let you run along with Mia and spar until she breaks you or I can just find you a new sparring partner," the blue-haired ranger offered. "Perhaps one of the laguz warriors here would suffice."

Malin failed to respond; he didn't really need to.

xxxx

Malin ate heartily that evening of what Gallia had to offer. The brown-haired archer was quite impressed at the lake-dwelling grouper and the venison, both cooked to perfection. The talent of Gallia's hunters and chefs certainly pleased him, as did the generous supply of the nation's ale.

"I never took you for a drinker," Mia said. She sat right next to the archer, to no one's surprise.

"Need something to get my mind off a damn war, right?" Malin took a brief chug of the mug of ale. "Wanna try?"

"Nah, I don't think so…"

"Suit yourself," was all the archer said. He took yet another sip. The way the ale sat in his belly made him feel quite comfortable. Malin sat the mug back onto the table. "Ahh… Think I'm done. That was… nice."

"You're quite the lightweight, huh?" questioned Boyd who was to Malin's left. He motioned towards his mug that was only half-full.

Malin replied groggily, "I'm not some big lug like you, so I don't need much to feel it. Besides, these laguz are more than generous with this stuff."

The door to the mess hall opened to reveal Ike. "Hey, hero! Got a seat right across from me!" Malin invited the ranger.

Not wanting to come across as rude, Ike took the seat.

"Where's that… kid that's always hanging at your side? Saleh? Sophia…? Oh wait, sorry. That's a girl's name!" Malin chuckled at himself.

"You mean Soren?" Ike asked. "It would take a miracle for him to have a seat and eat with us. He's always busy whether it is studying magic or something else… If it weren't for me bringing him a plate, I'm sure he'd let himself starve."

"That's a shame, innit?" The archer hiccupped. "`Scuse me! So, I'm sure you've had a long talk with that king guy and princess… What's next for us?"

"King Caineghis offered our group a place to live in Gallia, but I refused. Our goal is to retake Crimea from Daein," Ike answered.

Boyd grinned and thumped his chest with loyalty, "We're with you no matter what!" He gave Ike a brief thumbs-up.

"If any of you want to stay in Gallia, I won't make you go with me," the commander offered. "It's sure to be much more difficult than what we've faced so far…"

Mia let an excited smile form on her face. "That's the kind of talk I love, Boss! I've been in since Greil saved me and Malin, and my mind's not gonna change!"

Malin didn't say anything; he was resting his eyes and leaning back on his chair. Mia rolled her eyes at him and slapped the back of his head. "Ouch, dammit! Why do you need to keep hitting me, Mia? And why are we still talking about sticking with Ike? As lovely as Gallia and her ale is, I can't stand sitting down for long."

"It's… heartening to know you're all with me. Even you, Malin," Ike joked, "with your particular choice of words."

"What do we do to retake Crimea, though?" Boyd asked with some curiosity. "We can't just march back through the borders and roll heads, can we? …Wait a minute. I like that idea! I'm a genius!"

"No, of course not, Boyd. We'll need to petition Begnion for help, seeing as the king can't offer us any more assistance than Lethe and Mordecai," answered the commander. "There's strength in numbers."

"Why doesn't Gallia offer their entire force?" asked Malin. "We could actually go with Boyd's idea if we had them with us. Not like I'm siding with the blockhead, though." Boyd eyed the archer in annoyance.

"As easy as that sounds, Malin, the king can't do that. Anti-beorc resentment is still present in some of the elders. They would do all in their power to protest if King Caineghis chose to do that," Ike explained. "We can't let him get in trouble like that. They already feel unsure about Princess Elincia being here in the first place."

Malin nodded. "Guess that makes sense. So, are we leaving at dawn?"

Ike shook his head. "As advantageous as getting back on the road sounds, I think we need a short break from all the fighting. We'll depart in a few days."

"In that case, I can sleep in for once… thank goodness," Malin said with a grin. "Don't bother waking me up in the morning, guys." He got up from his seat and made his way out of the mess hall. Unfortunately for the archer, the ale got to him more than he expected. He tripped and landed on his face. "Ugh…"

"You're so helpless!" laughed Boyd. The others joined in the laughter. Mia got out of her seat and helped him up and walked him out of the door. The fighter decided to follow.

Once out of the door, Malin removed Mia's hand from his shoulder. "I can make it just fine…" At this point, Boyd was out of the door as well and watched the archer.

Malin started to walk yet again, though it looked like he was on the verge of tripping. Mia shook her head with a small grin. Boyd snickered. "What'd I tell you? I'm just fi-"

He hit the floor again, though his hands caught in time to avoid slamming his face. Boyd laughed out loud. "You can't do anything without Mia, can you?"

_Say another word and I'll shove an arrow up so far up your… _thought the clumsy Malin.

xxxx

High noon came to greet Malin with the sun shining brightly up in the vast skies of Gallia. He finally woke up, surprised Mia didn't get drag him out of bed to spar for once. Malin opened his eyes, blinded by a parchment that was on his face. He grabbed and read it.

_Malin,_

_Decided to go easy on you today and let you sleep in. Don't expect me to do it again, though! I'll be waiting for you on the training grounds outside the castle._

_- Mia_

Though he didn't want to spar, Malin knew he'd never convince Mia to stop. He got out of his bed, got dressed and walked out of his room.

Malin didn't even know where the training grounds were, but he knew he'd find them eventually. He declined to ask a Gallian for directions, as he'd feel a little embarrassed.

At the end of the hall where his room was, Malin stopped at a door and opened it. The sun greeted him, so he thought he was right. He walked outside.

_Wrong way, _thought Malin as he found his way into a garden; it had a great variety of flowers that made a beautiful display and mixture of aromas. The archer marveled at how fierce fighters such as laguz could have a taste for the less violent things in life.

At the center of the garden was a statue composed of stone. It depicted a beautiful female laguz in beorc form, holding the petals of a flower in one delicate hand. Her face had a blissful smile and a bird was perched on her shoulder. Paying it little mind, Malin walked around the garden in curiosity.

Malin found the only one in the garden, a young woman with long green hair and hazel eyes. She was examining a rose that looked to have recently bloomed and wore an orange dress that contracted against rather than compliment her elegance. The woman was unaware she wasn't alone in the garden until Malin sneezed. He must have been allergic to some of the flora.

"Oh, bless you! I thought I was alone here…" the young woman said in a soft voice. She walked over to the archer; her eyes were still focused on the flora.

Malin sniffed and wiped his nose. "Ehh, guess you were wrong..." He changed the subject. "Hard to believe that a people as ferocious as the beast tribe have an interest in something like this, huh?"

Princess Elincia took a look at him, a young man with short brown hair and blue eyes. Malin was dressed as a commoner save for the boots his pants were tucked into as well as gloves that wrapped around his hands and ended at his forearms. "It's beautiful," said the noblewoman.

"It is. Oh, sorry," said the archer. "My name's Malin. I just joined the Greil Mercenaries about a week ago."

The princess made a curtly bow with grace. "It is nice to meet you, my lord Malin. I am Princess Elincia."

"Oh, shoot! I'm so sorry! I didn't know you're the princess of Crimea! It's an honor!" Malin nervously said and bowed. "Please don't toss me into a dungeon or execute me!"

Princess Elincia raised an eyebrow in wonder and asked, "Now, why would I do that? You didn't know."

"Sorry…" Malin sneezed again. "I'm not so good at speaking with royalty."

The princess lightly chuckled. "Please don't worry yourself. Honestly, I wasn't raised in Melior Castle, so I know not the ways of a princess. This all was just forced on me once Daein invaded Crimea." Her smile turned into a frown.

Malin sighed in relief. "I-I see. Well, I'll do all in my power to help you and Ike retake Crimea. It's my home, too."

"…You have my thanks, my lord Malin. It's a blessing to know Lord Ike and his men are so dedicated. I don't deserve all this loyalty."

"Oh, don't be like that, your ladyship… err, highness!" Malin stuttered. "What would Crimea be without a princess? With the king and queen gone, we'll need you now more than ever, especially when those Daeins get the hell out."

"You're too kind, milord," Elincia said with another bow.

Malin bowed, not sure what exactly to do in return. Needless to say, it made him feel quite awkward. He scratched the back of his head. "R-right. Well, it was nice talking to you and such, but I need to-"

"My apologies for interrupting, but you look like someone I may have met before… I just can't place my finger on it," the princess said thoughtfully.

"Really now? My family and I have never seen royalty before. Yep, just a commoner's family!" Malin denied with a smile.

The princess replied, "I suppose I'll take your word for it, then. It was nice speaking with you, milord."

"You too, Princess Elincia." With that, the archer walked away from the garden and re-entered the castle to look for Mia, but not before another sneeze. _Could it be that he was there when the Daeins…? _Malin questioned himself. _Doubtful, very doubtful. _

_End of chapter._

xxxx

_**(Author's Notes): **__I swear I'm not dead; I've just been without Internet access on my personal computer up for… well, a while. That, and I finally got my hands on a 3DS and Fire Emblem Awakening. Stars above, I love it… Anyways._

_I feel uncertain about this chapter, as I may have focused far too much on my original character here. I'll do my best to not let that happen next update. That all said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Notes will soon be posted on Livejournal. Thank you for reading._


	4. To Protect

_Mad King's War: Deliverer_

_Written by: Truth and Temper_

_Beta'd by: DarkEclipse45_

_Chapter Four: To Protect_

_Two people, one man and one child, sparred right outside a modest house that was nestled a fair distance away from Crimea's capitol of Melior. The boy sprinted toward the older man, swinging his practice sword wildly. The man parried with his own sword and then swung it horizontally, hitting the boy's chest. He fell to his knees, sweat dripping down his brow._

"_Ha! Is that it?" the tall, brown-haired knight asked with a smile. He pointed his practice sword at his son and lightly chuckled. "You'll need much more than that to become a royal knight!"_

_His student and son, a child with the same hair, was still on his knees, breathing in gasps. "I'm so tired…"_

_The father, named Carrion, waited on his ten-year old son. "Look at me, son." The boy looked up to make eye contact. "You can never complain. That's not what I did when I trained to be a knight. I never complained, and I never gave up." _

"_Never complain… and never give up," the kid repeated._

_Carrion nodded with a smile. "Do that, and you're sure to be a knight the bards will be singing about in generations to come." He kneeled down to his son. "Do you want to keep going?"_

_Malin nodded, adjusted the grip on his practice sword, and stood back up. _I don't want to be a knight for the glory; I want to be a knight so I can be closer to you…_ the son thought to himself._

xxxx

Without realizing it, Malin let his mind drift to the past as he was still searching for his purple-haired companion in Castle Gallia. Before the archer could lose himself to memories both good and bad, Malin heard Mia's voice ring in his ears.

"Malin!" The myrmidon found him shortly after. "There you are! Did you get my note?"

Shaking his head to cease the thoughts, Malin spoke up in his usual tone, "…Of course I did. It would be hard not to getwhen you left the damn thing on my face."

"Just wanted to make sure, Malin," Mia replied with a smile. "You took your sweet time looking for the training grounds; were you trying to avoid me?"

"Oh, now why would I want to do that?" he asked with sarcasm. "Avoid sparring and getting my ass kicked by you? I wouldn't miss that for the world."

"You wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?" asked the young woman, her smile finally lessening. "I know you like being sarcastic, but now you're just being a grump." Mia then rested her hands on her hips, tapping a foot on the stone floor, waiting for a response.

"…Sorry. It's just I've got something on my mind," answered the archer. He scratched the back of his head. "And someone."

Mia broke her stance not a second after and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You know I'm here for you to talk, buddy, anytime you need it."

"O-of course… thanks."

"On second thought, Malin… you feeling okay for sparring? Or are you still hurting from that injury you took?" Mia asked, her hand still lingering on Malin's shoulder.

Malin raised an eyebrow in some surprise. "What, you're giving me an option this time, Mia? That isn't like you!"

"Maybe I'm just being nice to you since you got hurt and all," she answered. The myrmidon then removed her hand from Malin's shoulder.

Malin started walking towards where he assumed were the training grounds. "H-hey! Where are you going?"

"To the training grounds," the young man answered without turning his back. "You coming?"

"Wrong way, silly!" Mia said with a humored smile and motioned for Malin to follow her, to which he wordlessly complied. "Gee, where would you be if I wasn't around, huh?"

Malin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "…Yeah, I'm not going to answer that."

xxxx

Malin acted like he was ready for a sparring match with Mia, but, as usual, he failed to put up resistance against the myrmidon in the end. Still, Malin wanted some exercise to get his mind on something else, and he at least succeeded at that. It also pleased Mia that he decided to spar in the first place. Two birds with one stone.

Though Malin did poorly, he noticed he lasted longer than usual, as for once Mia decided they were finished. He did come close to landing a hit and dodging, but it didn't happen.

Malin felt like he still had some energy, oddly enough. Perhaps it was because he got to sleep much longer than usual. Whether or not that was the sole reason, Malin shrugged the thought away and decided to do some practicing with his preferred weapon of choice.

Malin went all the way back to his room to collect his bow and arrows. He was glad he was doing better with a larger bow than he was comfortable with, but there was always room for improvement. He made it back to the edge of the training grounds where no one was, set up a target, and got to practicing.

He felt proud of himself, as most arrows he shot would hit the bull's-eye or close. Malin even widened the distance between himself and the target, and still he fared pretty well. That was what the larger-scale bows were meant for, after all.

Malin didn't even notice that a certain member of the Greil Mercenaries was watching him and taking note of his movements. Little Rolf was the one examining the senior archer's work. Once Malin took a short break, Rolf walked up to his side.

"Umm… excuse me," Rolf said shyly.

Malin turned to see the green-haired child. He was loosely carrying a bow in his right hand and a quiver resting at his belt.

"You're Oscar and Boyd's brother… right?" Malin asked.

The kid nodded. "Y-yep, that's me! My name's Rolf."

"Uh-huh… Well, if you didn't know, I'm Malin."

"My brothers talked about you briefly once," Rolf confirmed. "And I've seen you in battle."

"I see, kid. Is there something you want?" Malin asked.

"Umm… well, yeah."

Malin said with little patience, "No one's keeping you. Now go ahead. What is it?"

Rolf gulped and asked a question first. "H-how long have you been an archer?"

Malin thought for a second. "Ehh, for a little while, I guess, though I never really feathered someone until about a year before this whole war," he answered and went back to shooting his target. Malin pulled back an arrow into his bow and was about to let it go.

"Oh. Well, I want to know if you'd help teach me," Rolf said.

Malin let the arrow go in surprise, it landing far from the target. "Wait, what?!"

Rolf muttered with a nervous voice, "Since my teach-… umm, I mean… I just started fighting with you guys and figured I could use a hand in getting used to this kind of thing."

"Get used to this whole war thing? You're a little kid who's now fighting and getting into killing?!" asked Malin incredulously. "For your brothers' and your own sake, you should do something else to help out, like cleaning or something."

"N-no," Rolf refused. "The reason I started fighting was to protect my brothers and friends. I… even took my first life the last battle…"

"Damn this war, getting kids so young to kill! Kids like you should just have fun, not shed blood!" Malin yelled out in anger. He took a brief moment to breathe in and out to calm down. "Sorry about that. So, you already killed…?"

"Y-yeah…" Rolf looked down in remembering the deed. He made eye contact again. "But it was to protect my brothers! I'm mad at myself for doing it, but I… I can't live with myself if something happens to Oscar and Boyd! So, please…"

Malin sighed once again. "I am not happy about this, not one bit. I'm sorry that this war managed to drag you of all people in. Just an innocent kid… Fine, I guess I'll do it. I just don't think I'll be able to help you all that much. I'm not a great archer or anything, but I can at least give you some pointers."

"You will?!" Rolf's guilty look was then replaced with a more excited one.

"Yeah, kid, you win," Malin said with a sad nod. "But if we're doing this, you have to tell me, no, guarantee me, that you won't take unnecessary risks in battle! Keep yourself safe so you can keep your family safe."

"Oh, thank you so much, Mister Malin!" Rolf hugged him. "You won't regret this!"

Malin shook in surprise at the embrace but awkwardly returned it with a quick pat on the youth's back. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Just don't call me 'mister.' And try to refrain from hugging; it's not my kinda thing."

"Sorry!" Rolf let go of him and looked up to him with a smile.

After a moment of returning to his practice, Malin raised an eyebrow at Rolf, who was still standing by. "Listen, I don't want to shoot your dreams down today, but do me a favor and go have fun. Hang out with Ike's sister, harass a laguz; I don't care what it is. We can start tomorrow."

"Y-yes, sir!" the youth saluted and retreated. Before Rolf was out of sight, Malin heard him yell out, "And thanks again!"

Malin shook his head. "What did I just sign up for…?"

The last thing Malin expected, and wanted, for that matter, was a response. "I'm not sure, you tell me." The archer stopped and turned around to see Titania standing in her riding armor.

_I'm not getting any more training done today, am I? _Malin thought to himself with a frown. "Deputy Commander?"

The red-tressed paladin grinned a little at the nod of respect. "Do you mind telling me what that was all about?"

Knowing better than to keep her waiting for an answer, Malin spoke up, "Apparently I agreed to teach a kid to become a killing machine. You and Ike know Rolf killed a man the last battle, right?"

"Of course, worry not, Malin," Titania answered with a nod. "The commander and I share your thoughts on finding new fighters in Rolf and Mist, but we'll be able to keep a closer eye on them this way."

The archer scratched the back of his head. "I guess, but I really don't like this… I-"

The Deputy Commander rested a hand on Malin's shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. "It will be okay. We will protect them, and they will learn to protect us in return should we ever be in need. I've the utmost confidence that Rolf found a good teacher in you."

The compliment only served to fluster the archer some. "Ahh… r-right. I guess I've no choice now." Malin desperately wanted to change the subject and did so. "I take it you've fully recovered? I saw you get your share of hits back at Gebal."

"I'm quite fine now, thanks," Titania confirmed. "I'm more than ready for anything."

"I can tell, with you wearing your armor despite Gallia's humidity."

The paladin held back a short chuckle. "One must be ready should something happen, right?"

"_One must be ready should something happen, son…" _Malin immediately recalled the words that were spoken by his father so long ago.

"Malin?" Titania shook his shoulder to get his attention.

The archer's mind drifted to the past. More words from Carrion: _"One must never grant the possibility of getting thrown into dire straights."_

"Malin!"

He answered with a brief shake of his head, his eyes fixed to the ground below him. "…Oh, sorry about that." He looked back to meet Titania's eyes.

"Are you feeling all right?" the paladin asked with some concern. "You zoned out there."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Titania eyed him for a second and then simply shrugged. "I suppose I'll take your word for it. My apologies, but I must meet with the commander now." Titania then dismissed herself, but not before turning back to face Malin for another brief second. "Just try not to let that happen in battle."

"Yeah… right." One name came to the archer's mind as he was left to train once more. _Carrion…_

xxxx

Some marks later, the newest member of the Greil Mercenaries and lone pegasus knight, Marcia, was walking in Castle Gallia, looking for the convoy. The pink-haired young woman made a turn into another hall where some more guest rooms were, assuming she would find it there. Marcia looked around the hall, as some portraits were on the walls. Most of them she assumed depicted past kings of Gallia.

Malin was looking around at the portraits as well, on the other side of the hall. Both kept looking at them in pure curiosity and didn't bother to look where they were going. The two bumped into each other soon after.

"Oh, crackers! I'm so sorry!" Marcia apologized as she backed up to give Malin room. "You okay?"

The archer answered, "Yeah, yeah. Guess we should both watch where we're going."

Malin looked up and took a glance at the pegasus knight. She was his height, wore white, light riding attire with a red chest plate that covered her shoulders and chest, contrasting her piercing blue eyes.

"I'm afraid we haven't met. Of course, I just joined Ike's mercenaries last battle. I'm Marcia." She offered a hand to Malin.

He hesitantly took her hand and shook it. The archer remembered that he saw her face briefly in the last battle; she was atop a pegasus. "Name's Malin. So, what brings a pegasus knight to Gallia of all places?" he asked. "Don't you whitewings serve the officials in Begnion?"

Marcia corrected, "We serve the apostle. The dracoknights serve the monkeys in the senate." She sounded slightly vexed at the mention of the senate. Few in Begnion approved of the senate, as tales of overstepping in their political influence and power were commonly shared among the people.

"Close enough," offered the archer. "I only read a little about Begnion when I was a kid."

Marcia shrugged with a thin smile. "Anyway, I joined the mercenaries to return a favor for Ike. Just when I thought boat monkeys would overtake me, he and his company rushed into the scene and saved my carcass! That was some weeks ago."

"I see… what in the world were you doing with pirates, though?" Malin asked with slight condescend. "Surely the apostle would have better and more meaningful work for you ladies."

Marcia was unfazed by what the archer said. "Oh, I didn't do that under anyone's orders," answered the girl. Her smile turned into a small frown. "I was looking for my br-… someone very important to me. There was word this person was working with them until those idiots threw _that_ idiot overboard. That's where his tracks ran cold."

"Oh." Malin felt a little curious as to why she would be so open to someone she just met. That was the Greil Mercenaries, though, it seemed. "Well, good luck finding your… person."

"Aww, shucks! That's nice of you to say! Thanks," Marcia said, her smile returning.

Malin raised an eyebrow. _Nice of me to say? Shoot, is Mia getting to me? _he asked himself in his head. "Umm… yeah. You're welcome." He really wanted to change the subject. "So, are you heading for the convoy, too?"

"Yep," she answered with a nod, "though I don't actually know where it is."

"I can help you with that." Malin rested a hand on a nearby door. "We bumped into each other right outside of it." He let out a small chuckle.

"Oh… thanks." Marcia sounded a little embarrassed, but Malin paid no mind. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Malin." The man opened the door for her. He saw she was approaching Aimee, presumably to purchase healing salve in case of an emergency in battle.

Malin remembered what he wanted to go to the convoy for as he walked up to Muston, who was seated behind a table. This time he was polishing the deadly sharp blade of an axe. Hearing the archer's footsteps, Muston looked up to Malin with a welcoming smile. "Hey there! I was hoping to see your face again!"

"I wasn't aware a certain bearded man had grown infatuated with me," Malin joked. "We've only known each other for so long, Muston."

Muston let out a hearty laugh, his eyes still focused on his work. "You could say the same for everyone who gets their weapons from yours truly."

Malin grinned. "I guess I understand from your perspective. But enough jesting!" he said. "I want to know if you have armor or something… I've been stupid and reckless for not having any for this long."

Muston lightly rested the axe onto the table in front of him as if it were a precious child and grabbed some light chain mail. "Best I have, I'm afraid."

"Better than nothing," said Malin whilst pulling out a small bag of gold coins.

xxxx

Two former mercenaries sat side by side in a tavern, each having a mug full of Begnion's cheapest ale. The drinks weren't the best the empire had by far, but Shinon and Gatrie weren't picky. This would be the last drink they'd share for some time, as the knight just took a job helping protect the daughter of a wealthy nobleman.

Said knight took a generous gulp from his mug. Once finished, he asked his friend, "So, this is the last…?"

"For now," Shinon said with a nod. He took a brief sip from his own mug.

Gatrie frowned. "You… you know I can put in a good word for you, right?"

The pony-tailed sniper nodded again. "Yeah, but if you ask me, I'm sick of helping royal brats when I wouldn't even be paid a pittance." His mind drifted to the short duration he and Gatrie were with the Greil Mercenaries when Crimea's unknown heiress contracted them. Shinon shook his head. "I need something more worth my time and skill. Something that'll reward me handsomely…"

The knight shrugged. "I understand. But I'm not even leaving for Begnion's port with Lady Astrid for a little while… in a week or so, I believe. Don't you want to stay for that much longer for old times?"

"As fun as that sounds," Shinon said with a shake of his head, "I'm going to say no. I can't stay still for much longer at this rate, Gatrie."

"Where will you go?" asked Gatrie.

"That I haven't really figured out myself yet, but I suppose I'll make up my mind on the way out." The sniper dropped a few silver coins on the bar in front of a balding man scrubbing a mug with a cloth.

Gatrie looked up at his friend when he heard the dull clinks of the coins bouncing once and then settling down on the surface. "You're already leaving?"

"Yeah. This was fun, but I'm out of here," said Shinon as he got out of his seat. "There's got to be more for me to do than just wasting time in a tavern."

Turning around to face his friend the last time for an unknown period, the knight smiled sadly and said, "You stay safe, Shinon. Hope to see you again soon!"

The sniper gave a confident smirk in return. "You know me, Gatrie. I'll manage just fine on my own." Shinon gave him a brief thumbs-up before stepping out of the door.

Once out of the tavern, Shinon took a deep breath in and out. He looked around, saying to himself, "There's got to be something for me here, 'cause I'm sure as hell not going back to Crimea or stinking sub-human country."

After a short period of what seemed to be aimless wandering, the sniper caught the sight of a large coliseum. Its rough construction only complimented the wild cheering booming from within.

"Hmm, why not?"

_End of chapter._

xxxx

_**(Author's Notes): **__Greetings, readers, and welcome to the newest update. Short filler with not much else other than dialogue, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. I apologize for the big delay; I'm back to my studies and all. Also got a job, so at times I've got my hands a bit tied more so than usual. I hope you understand. (Oh, and I go by a new pen name here, but feel free to call me whatever you want. Sorry if there's any confusion.)_

_A few references to older Fire Emblem titles here. "Whitewings" are originally the Medonian pegasus knights in Shadow Dragon and Malin's father's name is a reference to the social knight in Thracia 776. (What's funny is I never played any title before Blazing Sword; perhaps I should change that sometime.) _

_Special thanks go to my beta DarkEclipse45 and you all for reading. Feedback of any kind is always welcome and appreciated. Be back soon, hopefully._


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